INDIANAPOLIS — Friday will be the second day of on-field workouts at the NFL’s scouting combine at Lucas Oil Stadium.
A look at what you need to know:
The workouts: From 7 p.m.-11 p.m. ET (NFL Network), offensive linemen, running backs, kickers and special teamers will do the vertical jump, broad jump, 40-yard dash and position drills.
And … : The defensive linemen and linebackers will do the bench press as the defensive backs will be weighed and measured.
The record holders: Maryland tackle Bruce Campbell’s combine story can be filed under buyer beware. At 6-foot-6, 318 pounds, Campbell ran a double-take worthy 4.75 40-yard dash and had a 34-inch vertical jump at the 2010 combine. The Raiders selected him in the fourth round but Campbell played 19 games in his career. On the opposite end of things, running back Bo Jackson’s work at the 1986 combine — the year before the event was moved to Indianapolis — is still the stuff of legend, including the long-debated 4.12-second hand-timed 40-yard dash. Jackson has said it didn’t happen at the combine because he didn’t attend the event that year in New Orleans. That 40-yard dash, Jackson has said, happened on Auburn’s campus.
At the top of the board: There is a gap between the top tackles and rest of the players in the position group. Look for Louisville’s Mekhi Becton, Alabama’s Jedrick Wills, Iowa’s Tristan Wirfs, Houston’s Josh Jones and Georgia’s Andrew Thomas to get heavy first-round consideration when April rolls around. Many personnel executives believe Georgia running back D’Andre Swift and Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins will get much of the pre-draft love among the ball carriers, it is LSU’s Clyde Edwards-Helaire who might be the most intriguing all-around prospect at the position.
Who can really help himself: The top five offensive tackles are likely locked in, but every other player at the position will have a chance to bump himself up the board with good work at the combine. Opinions are far more varied after the top players. Michigan center Cesar Ruiz is somebody to watch. At running back, a player such as Utah’s Zack Moss, who had 66 receptions in four seasons with the Utes, will have a chance to show a little more as a receiver.
Don’t miss: The new drills, added this year, as the offensive linemen will now have a screen pass drill added to the mix and the running backs will have a new drill — called the “Duce Staley drill” — which will simulate an inside zone play that will help scouts see a back’s vision in traffic.
More on the combine: